Compromise OK’d for Centennial Hills apartment complex
Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross was right: Not everyone is happy about the controversial three-story apartment complex now set to go up next to one of Centennial Hills‘ toniest subdivisions.
But after weeks of rancorous meetings and signature collecting, many neighbors now seem at least open to the possibility of living next to a heavily revised version of the 261-unit project.
Ross joined six council members Wednesday in a unanimous vote to approve those changed blueprints, allowing California-based Blue Marble Development to forge ahead with the apartments just outside of Lamplight Glen - a tiny, affluent northwest valley subdivision that had served as the epicenter of efforts to kill the divisive project.
Dozens of Lamplight homeowners worry the development will attract crime, traffic and noise - but perhaps above all, sink their property values. They fear it will also draw poor, transient residents to their backyard, despite rents projected to range from $1,000 to $1,400 per month. Most of them, if not all, added their name to a list of hundreds of signatures collected as part of an anti-apartment petition drive initiated last month.
A series of changes adopted by the developer - including a reduced-height parking garage, an 8-foot-tall separation wall and streetlights removed to retain the area‘s "rural character" - helped put some of those concerns to rest.
"Is it exactly what I want in my backyard? Absolutely not," said longtime project opponent Juliette Berkabile, "but (Blue Marble) has been very helpful. I know they have at least acted in good faith."
A wave of opposition started by Berkabile and other Lamplight residents crested at a June town hall meeting hosted by the developer and attended by Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, two TV camera crews, three city staffers and well over 100 fuming homeowners.
Only one of those in attendance called on Blue Marble to sell residents on the possible benefits of the project.
The rest appeared to have made up their minds against the move. They spent most of the meeting criticizing Ross and heckling Blue Marble lobbyist Bob Gronauer.
The mood was a lot lighter at City Hall on Wednesday, when Ross lauded a long-awaited truce reached between neighbors and developers.
’"You have gone above and beyond," the three-term councilman told representatives with Blue Marble. "Whether you guys like it or not, you‘re still going to have to have that avenue of communication (with neighbors).
"I think you want to be that good neighbor. You want to maintain those relationships."
Lawyers representing Blue Marble said the company plans to continue to consult with neighbors as developers prepare to break ground on the first phase of the apartment complex.
Contact James DeHaven at jdehaven@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3839. Find him on Twitter: @JamesDeHaven.
